A Millennium of Wisdom – Gatha 1

What I want to achieve in this presentation is to read all of Zarathushtra's Gatha 1, review some of the fine points derived from it and just go wherever discussion leads us.

But first I want to give you a bit of insight into the history of this time period and see how Akhenaten, Moses, and Zarathushtra fit together on a time line and provide a VERY high level overview of their theology, that you will find in the table above.

The clearest historically attested figure with strong “wisdom/religious teaching” associations active near 1300 BCE is Akhenaten. A near contemporary of his is the author Amenemope, who represents the written Egyptian wisdom tradition of the period. 

Moses appears in traditional and some scholarly reconstructions of the same broad era c. 1300 B.C. 

Zarathushtra is possible by early scholarly estimates.  All dates, except for Akhenaten, are debatable. 

Most other wisdom activity from this time survives as anonymous or collective literary traditions rather than biographies of named living teachers.

Notice how 1300 B.C. seems to be the center of the origin of wisdom literature.  Not included in the table is the Proverbs of Solomon which were written some 300 years later  c. 1000 B.C. 

Prior to 1350 B.C. humanity deemed many gods worthy of worship.  These were mostly things deemed more "powerful" than humanity, e.g. storms, the Nile, cattle, etc. Anything or anyone with more "power" (ability to do) might be considered a god.

Somewhere around 1350 B.C., Akhenaten’s theology (Atenism) centered on exclusive worship of the Aten (the energy in the sun disk) which provides the energy for everything in the world "to do". This, he said, was the sole or supreme deity and source of all life and creation. He presented himself as the uniquely qualified promoter of Aten to humanity. He emphasized light, nature, and the visible sun’s life-giving power.  He is often credited as the "first monotheist" but his theology is better described as the worship of, or adherence to, one god without denying the others.

He built temples solely to the Aten, moved his capital from the popular political center "out to the country" and built a new religious city center – Akhetaten (Amarna). He systematically erased the names and images of other gods (especially Amun) from monuments, and in some cases attacking the plural word “gods. And he composed, or commissioned hymns that describe the Aten as the sole creator and sustainer of life with no rivals.

Akhenaten was unsuccessful at swaying the people to monotheism.  He merely declared that there was one supreme god.  The old priesthood "relieved him of his duties" and his "monotheism" vanished.

Then sometime in the generation shortly before, or shortly after Akhenaten,  Moses’ theology brought forth a strict monotheism centered on Yahweh as the one God (YHWH, literally means something like “He is” or “He who is” and is from the Hebrew root “to be”). Looking beyond the Sun Disk, Moses recognized that something, or someone, or some spirit energy created the Sun. Where Akhenaten took a first step in monotheism, Moses jumped back to the origin. 

Moses deemed that this one God is alone worthy to be worshipped and he forbade idolatry (substituting something lesser for the greater God). Through Moses Yahweh liberates Israel from Egypt, makes a covenant with the people at Sinai, and gives the Law (Torah), including the Ten Commandments, requiring exclusive loyalty, ethical conduct, justice, and holiness.  Moses was successful in bringing monotheism to his people.

Sometime between the years of shortly-before-Moses to some 700-years-after-Moses, Zarathushtra’s theology centers on the descriptor of the creator as Ahura Mazda, literally meaning ""Wise Lord" for the supreme-wise-creator, i.e., God.

He noted that reality involves a cosmic struggle between Truth/Beneficence and the Lie/Malevolence or harm. Humans have free will to choose between the two.   Good thoughts, words, and deed, the path followed by the righteous, will prevail leading to the final renovation of the world. 

Where Akhenaten and Moses focused upon the nature and identity of the Creator God, Wisdom authors such as Amenemope, Zarathushtra, Solomon and the Chinese Sages focused upon the actions required for living in harmony with the manner such as the Creator God has created within the Cosmos, i.e., Natural Law.

We are doing similar things with our punctilios, but rather than writing wisdom literature, poetry or songs, we are trying to distill the wisdom of the ancients into Punctilios of Good....  These are short easily digested takeaways from the various wisdom literatures.

Now, let's look at Zarathushtra's first Song and the concept he introduces. The SOW website has the original transliterated version, in this reading I am going to change some of the descriptors so that we don't have to decipher as we go along. 

 Lord of All Wisdom, with respect, a bow and uplifted arms, I pray. 

First, I ask for support through the Spirit of Good and Growth–progressing mentality. 

Then I pray that I may perform all my actions, based as they are on the wisdom of good mind–the good moral state of the mind–without vagueness, ambiguity or error, according to the laws of righteousness so that I please You and the living souls in this World.       

Wise Lord, I approach You through the good moral state of the mind–without vagueness, ambiguity or error. 

Grant me through righteousness the blessings of both existences, the material and the mental (i.e. spiritual), so that I lead my companions to happiness.                     

O Righteousness and Good Spirit, I shall sing you praises none has sung before. 

I shall likewise praise the Wise Lord and those for whom the spirit of serenity promotes the eternal realm of righteousness. Respond to my calls for help.               

I, who am attuning my soul to a good moral state of the mind–without vagueness, ambiguity or error, know that the actions done for the Wise Lord have natural, fitting consequences. 

As long as I continue to have the will and the power, I shall teach others to strive after what is true, fit, and has been set in place and without vagueness, ambiguity or error by the creator.     

Having realized this good moral state of mind, when shall I see you, O Truth? 

When shall I find the path to the Most Powerful Lord, and listen to the voice of the Wise One. 

With these greatest thought-provoking words (the Gathas), we shall convince those who choose wrong to instead choose the right.         

Come through the good moral state of mind, and grant a long life through truth and its natural consequences. 

O Wise Lord, through Your sublime words, give me, Zarathushtra, and my men strong support so that we may overcome the spite of the hateful.   

Grant, O Righteousness, those natural consequences which are the gifts of a good moral mind. 

And you, serenity, grant Vishtaspa [the righteous king who Zarathushtra serves] his wish and mine too. 

O Wise One, grant the power through which we shall successfully proclaim Your thought-provoking message. 

With love, I pray to You; the best lord, who is in harmony with the best truth.  Grant the best of good moral mentality forever to noble Ferashaoshtra [one of Zarathushtra's students], to me, and all those who are worthy of it.   

Lord of Wisdom, may we not anger You, Righteousness or the best mind by exercising these gifts and sharing them with others. 

We are united in offering You our praises, for we consider You, the mighty master of progress and growth, to be most worthy of invocation.

Wise Lord, fulfill the desire of those whom you know to be just and earnest in righteousness and good morality to attain the natural consequences of their desires. 

For I know that loving requests for a worthy purpose never go unanswered by You.      

I have observed the principles of righteousness and good mind.  Wise Lord, teach me to speak the thoughts of Your mind, and the words of Your mouth: the teachings by which the life you intended shall be established.               

From the brief summaries of each verse the following Punctillios are offered.

• All prayers and requests for help from the universe should be done in desire of improving all of existence.

• Seek wisdom in all your actions. Its natural consequences will be its own reward, and result in happiness for you and your friends.

• Dedication to serenity, righteousness and good morals leads to a peaceful existence.

• Attune yourself with the good morals, show others righteous behavior, and know that there will be positive, productive consequences.  Giving good away to others will generally lead others to give good back to you.

• Think positively, act precisely, listen to the divine voice within, and convey the message of wisdom to all without discrimination.  
• In Zoroastrianism, the concept of precision is expressed through truth, cosmic order, and righteous exactness, which governs the universe and human action. It is the exact mathematical and physical laws of nature (such as seasons, planetary motion, and atomic structures); doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, and with the right means; and the rejection of chaos and deceit through precise adherence to good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. 

• Meditate to hear the divine voice within and live a long, true, fit, set in place and without vagueness, ambiguity or error, type of life, and see hatred vanish for good.

• Desire the intellectual rewards which come from the spirit and seek to spread those to others.

• Love the Creator AND the Creation, be in harmony with Nature, including humanity, and pray for the best through good morality.

• Ask for what you can utilize well, be united, pray for growth, and praise and practice the divine principles of good life.

• Love sincerely to receive true love in return.

• Turn to Nature, hear Divinity, and enjoy a good life of growth and progress.

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Discussion Questions

• Zarathushtra recognizes that the path of truth, fitness, and what has been set in place without vagueness, ambiguity or error, righteousness, leads to growth and maturity. Much like a growing plant he notes that such growth to a wise maturity is for the purpose of pleasing our creator and for pleasing "the soul of the living world" (indicating "the soul of all that lives on/in Earth.").  What would the Earth be like if the MAJORITY of life on/in the planet was always trying to do the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, and with the right means; and rejected chaos and deceit? What if order, good, and right-useness became more popular than chaos, deceit, and self gain?

• The mission of Zarathushtra and those who follow him is to spread this message of wisdom to ALL.  Do you think that this is a worthy mission?

• Is pursuing "good thoughts, good words, good deeds" a worthy pursuit?  Explain why.

• What general thoughts do you have?

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Take Away:  Doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, with the right manner and means, leads to positive growth and to generally better outcomes.  Choosing chaos, self-preservation, greed and the like, generally leads to a "poor outcome."  Much as a gardener, provide as much light as you can to your crops and your crops will grow, water them with Spirit and they will be nurtured.  

It is ALL for learning, so above ALL – LEARN AND IMPROVE! 

One of our chief objectives at DSU.

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